Three figures atop a hill overlooked the once-prosperous city of Tokyo atop a hill. Disgust was evident on two of them.

"Even Tokyo…" Lelouch Lamperouge, formerly Lelouch vi Britannia and eleventh Prince of Britannia, muttered, his violet eyes showing a mixture of hatred, anger, disgust, and contempt. After journeying through the war-laden Japanese territory for three months, and witnessing several war crimes committed by Britannia, he truly thought that he would somehow get used to it. The former prince forced the bile down his throat and glanced at his best friend, Suzaku Kururugi, whose eyes displayed immense sadness and disgust at the scene.

"Big brother, something wrong?" was the sweet, angelic, and yet frail voice of her sister who was being carried by Suzaku in a piggyback ride.

"No…" maybe lying came naturally to the Britannian Imperial Family as his voice tone showed no hint of deception. At times like this, Nunally's blindness was both a boon and a bane. Her lack of eyesight was compensated by the other heightened senses, such as hearing, his sister could easily detect a lie, although she never let others know…truly she is too kind for her own good. However, he could be grateful that her sister was not able to see the carnage of war…genocide, rape, torture… name it, Britannia did it.

"I can carry her now." Lelouch said, turning to his friend. The exiled prince was never fond of exercises, rather opting for more intellectual endeavors, such as chess. After experiencing war, he swore to change that, if not for Suzaku he, and Nunally would be dead already, how could a boy of ten survive if he wasn't strong enough to carry his extremely light sister on his back for more than thirty minutes.

"It's okay." Suzaku, son of Japan's last prime minister dismissed. "But we can't keep going forever. The more we wander, the weaker we become…"

"Let's camp here, it's getting late." The prince decided.

"Tomorrow everything will end, for better or worse."

Lelouch announced, his sister was fast asleep, and he and Suzaku were taking shifts into staying awake. Fallings asleep unprotected into a war zone was dangerous after all.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a family that may be able to help us, they sponsored my mother and were cast out after her assassination."

"Don't you think it's risky? They may resent you."

"It's possible." The exile admitted. "But as you said earlier, we can't keep going forever. This is a war zone, and the longer we keep wandering the higher the chance of causing harm to Nunally."

Suzaku nodded somberly. Despite the rough start of their friendship, Lelouch came to earn his respect due to the absolute care he showed for his sister. Behind each of his actions, there was one simple reasoning: Nunally's safety.

The silence was broken a few minutes later by the Japanese. "Remember what you said when Britannia invaded?"

Lelouch nodded, closing his eyes. "I swear… I swear, Suzaku, so help me. I will one day obliterate Britannia!"

"You really plan on doing that, right?"

Much to his surprise, the violet-eyed prince shook his head. "At this point…. I truly don't know. I want to change it all… I always assumed that Britannia would stand at my path, but now that I come to think about it, the EU and Chinese Federation would do so as well. Britannia just happens to be more effective."

"Change it all?"

"A world without war. For Nunally's sake."

Suzaku nodded. "For Nunally's sake."

The formerly noble House of Ashford had "Ever Growing" as a motto. Should their titles be restored as a result of a miracle, Reuben Ashford strongly considered changing it to the Latin "Sic transit gloria mundi", in English: "Thus passes worldly glory".

A year ago, they were on their all-time high, developers of the Ganymede, sponsors of Marianne 'the Flash' and on verge of strengthening their ties with the Imperial Family with a betrothal between his granddaughter Milly and the eleventh prince. Now, their contracts and properties are lost, Marianne and so did her children, alongside any hopes of their house.

In hindsight, it may have been an unwise idea to 'put all eggs on the same basket', yet it pained him all the same. Not only all his lifetime efforts were lost, but also the lives of a dear friend and two innocent children.

He glanced at his granddaughter, a close friend of the deceased prince, she obviously was affected by the whole ordeal. To lose a friend at such young age was something that he never wished Milly to experience.

Yet, he knew things would only get more difficult from now on, his son wasn't exactly what people would call intelligent, so it was up to Milly to reclaim the greatness of their house…through an arranged marriage.

Milly was raised with the idea she would get married, but to the prince, not someone else. His blonde, blue-eyed, and pretty granddaughter was looking forward to it, at age eleven she did not know what love truly was, but she really liked Lelouch. Now, not only she had to deal with the idea of him being killed, but also prepare for a lifetime marriage with someone she disliked.

The said girl entered the living room in a sprint and glee in her eyes. "Grandpa, it's a miracle."

Not an overly faithful man, Reuben strongly considered agreeing with Milly, a dead man in their gardens, nothing short of a miracle.

"Is that really you, Lelouch?"

"I am." Was his hoarse reply.

The boy in front of him was different from the one exiled from Britannia, he was thinner, ragged, and you could see some minor scars running through his arms. Yet the biggest difference laid within his eyes, once proud, bordering arrogant, the violet orbs now present the sight of a mature, yet empty person.

The boy raised his arm in the air and closed his fists, and as a clue, a boy, Japanese by the looks of it came from its hiding into one of the bushes, carrying in his back princess Nunally.

"Could you invite us inside?"

"You must wonder how I survived."

Reuben could only nod, in agreement, still shocked by Lelouch's sudden appearance. After being invited inside, the prince quickly asked for a private audience at his office, much to Milly's displeasure.

"What they said in the homeland?"

"It was said that you and Nunally were executed shortly after the initial strike. Princess Cornelia asked to be deployed to find your bodies but to no avail. Now I know why."

Lelouch nodded. "It made sense for Britannia to declare that if anything it painted the Japanese as evil and ruthless to harm defenseless children. To answer your question, at the early stages of war Suzaku managed to convince his father that we could be used as bargaining chips later on; after his death, we fled into the warzone. It took a lot of luck and shrewdness but we managed to get here in one piece."

"Do you trust this Suzaku?"

"With my life, if not for him Nunally and I would be dead long ago."

The Ashford patriarch nodded, whilst not backers of Britannian Social Darwinist ideology, one could easily distrust a foreigner whose country was torn apart by Britannia. "I assume you came here for help."

"Not for me, but Nunally."

This caused the elder to raise an eyebrow. "What you're planning, your highness?"

Lelouch chuckled. "Your highness…it was long ago that someone called me that…. Still, I better get used to it… I'm heading back to the Imperial Court."

"But that's almost suicide!" Reuben protested. "After what happened to your mother…"

"I thought a lot about this, what would happen if I were to pretend dead?"

"You could stay here; we can hide you."

"A life as a fugitive is no fit for a prince or princess. Britannia is a powerful foe, if I were to make a single mistake it was back into hiding and with nowhere to run. Tell me Lord Ashford, who has the advantage on a war? The attacker or the defender?"

"It depends…"

"Always the attacker." Lelouch cut in suddenly. "He who attacks chooses his battles, his time, and the strength of his enemies. If I go now, the ones who killed my mother will be surprised and I can use this to my advantage."

"You made your mind then?"

The prince nodded. "I came here to ask you to guard Nunally and to see if I can learn something else about my mother's murderers. The more I know the best prepared I am to face my enemies."

In response, Reuben pressed a button. "Call Sayoko."

A few moments later a Japanese woman with short brown hair that has bangs swept to the left side and light brown eyes came into the office, wearing a maid outfit.

"This is Sayoko Shinozaki, she's Milly's maid but if Nunally is to stay hidden I plan to assign her to Nunally."

The noble raised an eyebrow at that. "With all due respect Lord Ashford, Miss Sayoko, but a maid?"

Reuben couldn't help but smirk. "Sayoko, show him."

The maid did so, leaping into the air, before pirouetting and throwing a few kunai around. Two of them embedded themselves in the sides of the leather chair backrest."

Lelouch was speechless for a few seconds, his eyes comically bulging out. "You trust her?" He said after some time.

"I do."

The prince turned to the Japanese. "Please take care of my sister then, she's the only thing I have left."

His attentions turned to Reuben once again. "Before I reveal my plans I must ask: why are you sheltering me? Due to a sense of loyalty to my mother or for your own gain?"

"Both." The patriarch responded without missing a beat. "We'd have helped you hide even if you didn't want to go back to Britannia, however, since you are keen on heading back, we will still support you, but now we stand to gain from it too."

"I see. Then let's work together." Lelouch concluded.

"How do you plan to head back?"

"Britannia, and most importantly the Imperial court as a whole have a penchant for theatricals and performance, I'll do just that. Beat them at their own game." Lelouch took a sip of the tea offered to him by Sayoko. "I'll be heading back into court with three objectives: protect Nunally, survive, and avenge my mother."

Despite what people would say about the eleventh prince, at that moment Reuben knew he was unique, he put his sister's protection above everything else; it was his major goal, main strength, but also his crippling weakness.

"Don't you fear for your own life? The ones who killed Marianne will probably attempt to kill you too."

Lelouch nodded. "That's why I'm heading back into Britannia, I'll use the window of opportunity to create some alliances at the court, insurances while I establish my own power base."

Reuben nodded at the noble's reasoning. "You have someone specifically in your mind?"

"Schneizel is the obvious choice, although the fact no one knows what his end goal makes him a wildcard. Cornelia is also a good choice, but we all know that she can easily be controlled if someone threatens Euphemia. Some less obvious choices could be Clovis or Odysseus, they lack the strength of Schneizel and Cornelia but can be easier to control. However, there's one choice that's overlooked: the Emperor himself."

"But…" the Ashford family head attempted to protest only to be cut off by Lelouch.

"I'm under no assumptions about his character. If he didn't kill my mother, he at least knows who did it; yet he's the most powerful man in the world, and with a clear agenda. It makes planning easier, agree with his Social Darwinism and be useful to the empire."

"Your mother did this and ended up being killed anyway."

"It is a mean to an end, the emperor discarded me once, I'll use him, but I never forget; when the time comes, I'll jump the ship."

"And how you plan to endear yourself to the emperor?"

"I'll willingly become a piece on his chessboard."

"So you get to be sacrificed? You can't be serious."

"A pawn will most likely be sacrificed before a rook; yet even a pawn can kill a king."

"You're talking regicide."

"It must happen for me to ascend." The raven-haired boy declared sounding confident.

The elder gasped. "You can't possibly want to become emperor after all this."

"It is the best way to achieve my objective."

"And what that objective would be?"

His smirk almost became evil in hindsight. "To end all wars."

Despite Lelouch's assurances about the Ashfords, Suzaku Kururugi felt an unease unlike any other before as he waited at the manor's gardens. Milly quickly took Nunally for a private talk, so he was alone in the gardens, subject to the scrutinizing gazes of the employees and nobles alike.

"It's intimidating isn't it?" Lelouch asked, taking a seat beside him.

"It is." The green-eyed Japanese admitted.

"It gets easier with the time though, but it rarely goes away." The Britannian said. "I was raised with this as part of my environment, so I guess it came easier for me."

Suzaku just nodded. "You felt that in Japan too?"

"Not as strongly as in Britannia, but yes I did. People are xenophobic by nature; Britannians happen to be more discriminating about everything: race, blood, status, nationality. It doesn't fare well to the world that right now the Holy Empire is the leading force, both military and economical."

"You think that there will be even more wars?"

Lelouch nodded grimly. "My best guess will be either Australia or the Middle Eastern Federation; a war with one of the other superpowers may be dragged for too long."

"When it will end?" the boy asked hopelessly. "All the carnage, it's meaningless."

"As long as there's struggle there will be war, as such is the nature of humanity."

'But people can change it!" Suzaku protested, earning a shake of Lelouch's head.

"I truly doubt that, only those with power are able to change something, and as things are now, people are powerless."

Suzaku said nothing in response, he knew he's an idealist, whilst Lelouch was a cynic at his heart. He saw the best in people, Lelouch the worst. It truly was a miracle that they became friends.

"I'm heading back to Britannia." Lelouch announced. "It's the best way to protect Nunally."

Suzaku could only nod. "It is because of what we talked about last night?"

"Yes, what of you? Plan to going back to your family?"

"I can't. I'm afraid we'd never see eye to eye. They support things that I can't stand."

"Like guerilla warfare." Lelouch concluded.

"How do you…"

"Japan's early surrender meant that most of its army wasn't smashed by Britannia. It makes sense to rally behind an important figure and build a resistance group."

"I can't support this, they claim that they'll only target military areas, but I'm afraid it'll become terrorism at some point."

"I agree." Lelouch added. "Terrorism seeks to instill fear into one's population. An average Britannian citizen will be most likely to be frightened by an assault on his neighborhood's supermarket rather than an attack onto a fortress. But even so, this approach would only work on extreme situations and when the people actually had power; the Empire's system is an autocracy, the only voice that matters is the Emperor's and I speak by personal experience when I say the Emperor doesn't care about his subject's lives."

"You truly hate your father, don't you?"

At that Lelouch chuckled. "With every fiber of my being."

"You truly have to go, big brother?"

At Nunally's sad voice Lelouch almost discarded his own plan but thought better of it.

"I must, don't worry though, Milly and Sayoko will take care of you."

"But they aren't you." At this point, Nunally was on the verge of tears.

The prince knelt and grabbed his sister's hands. "I must go. But hopefully, things will change and we can live together again, in Pendragon. Don't you miss Euphemia and the others?"

At this Nunally beamed. "I do."

"As soon as things calm out, I'll arrange for you to talk with our siblings, even if it is only by phone."

Lelouch let go of his sister's hands, as he knew that if he stayed longer, he would lose all his courage. Instead, he picked up his backpack and put on a black hood.

"Never took you for someone who would wear street clothing." Milly quipped. She eyed him in a way that made the prince feel unease. "Suits you though."

"It's about putting on a performance." Lelouch argued back. In fact, the whole setup was about making an impact on the emperor and nobles alike. Hence why he was dressed in a black sleeveless hoodie, it could obscure his face to add to the surprise elements whilst displaying the few cuts and bruises on his arms, as a way to 'validate' his claim.

"You will be okay?" the worry in his friend's voice was evident to Lelouch.

"I will." He lied, the truth was that even he couldn't be sure of his plan's success, hence why Nunally was staying back. "What about you?"

"I will be." Milly reassured with a smile.

Back when they first met, they were different people, Milly a proper lady who dreamed of balls and marriage; he was a brooding prince with an ego greater than his own step.

Life happened and now they had little in common. Still, the raven-haired prince knew that he could always count on Milly. "I'll never forget about what you did for me, what your family did for me. You can always count on me."

The heiress' cheeks reddened for some reason, but she smiled at him nonetheless. "I'll hold onto that; Duchess of Massachusetts has a nice ring onto it doesn't?"

Lelouch chuckled. Milly still had the innate ability to take his mind off troubling thoughts with some few words. He was truly glad she was on his side. "It does."

Lelouch asked to be left to his own devices as soon as he left the Ashford Estates. If he couldn't secure his move back to the homeland by himself, how could he even survive there?

So, with only a backpack containing some food and few changes of clothes, he had to not only find a way to cross the entire Pacific Ocean but also secure an audience with the emperor.

Easier said than done.

Thankfully for him, the worst of the war already passed by and the Britannian government was eager to re-establish a connection with the newly named Area 11 and extract its massive Sakuradite resources.

Using some of his charisma managed to earn him a place into a crew of a tanker transporting Sakuradite to the Harbor of Pendragon, the capital of the empire. He obviously had to do work, mostly scrubbing decks, but he was fed and most importantly people raised no questions about him.

Manual labor was hell, but ever since his brush with death experience in Japan he came to respect physical strength, he still loathed exercising, but at least saw the pros of it.

This was the tenth night since he boarded the vessel, and if his calculations were correct, he would be at Pendragon by tomorrow's evening. So far, Lelouch already planned most of his comeback, yet he was still trying to figure what to do after that. His entire plan revolved in making alliances before the enemies could regroup and strike, the emperor's backing would be crucial, but other than that it was unlike that the man he once called father would do anything more.

Schneizel, as much as pained Lelouch to admit, is better than him at everything: chess, politics, speeches, planning. Still, of all his siblings the exile knew he was the only one who could actually pose a threat to him. However, the so-called White Prince tended to solve his problems through diplomacy rather than warfare or assassination, so there was a huge chance that Schneizel would approach him sooner than later. Still, Lelouch knew he would hardly be treated as equal, and not knowing Schneizel's motives made a partnership with him a step in the dark.

Cornelia is a brilliant military commander but nothing more than that. One could easily see her agenda: protect Euphy at all costs. Cornelia cared about him, but not as much as she cared about her full-blooded sister. Lelouch obviously had no intention whatsoever of hurting his favorite half-sister but Cornelia's devotion could be a crippling weakness.

Partnership with Clovis has its own set of advantages and drawbacks. On one hand, should they partner Lelouch would be the one calling the shots as his intellect tramples Clovis'. On the other hand, his half-brother's vain, arrogant, and somewhat power-hungry personality makes him an unreliable ally, as nothing stops him from backstabbing him should someone (most likely Schneizel) puts a better offer on the table.

Odysseus could be a reliable, but weak ally. He is kind, compassionate, and overall a good person who wouldn't deliberately betray him. His status as Crown Prince could also be beneficial as yet another layer of protection. However, the heir apparent was simple-minded and often indecisive, in fact, Lelouch had no doubts he was already being controlled by Schneizel.

The last option was also the most unlikely to work out: his eldest sister Guinevere. She could easily be compared to Clovis in several aspects' personality-wise, but she was even more insufferable. With no particular talent, she relied only upon her position as First Princess, being more interested in throwing lavish parties rather than actively playing politics. The only reason she was even being considered is that no one, even Schneizel, would see that coming, which could be a boon.

The fact that the emperor has 108 (this at least was the count last time Lelouch checked) consorts made properly tracking all his siblings impossible. Amongst the ones younger than him, the eleventh prince couldn't see any other potential competitor or partner. Euphemia is too gentle and sheltered. Marrybell is too trusting. Carine is sadistic. Laila often hides on Clovis' shadow. The rui Britannia twins are too unpredictable.

Glancing at the clock, Lelouch decided to stop his planning, for now at least, most of the scenarios would only play out should he survived his first encounter with the emperor, so he had to do his best to make a good, and lasting impression.

It was still surreal to think that he was returning to the capital, and even more when he did so willingly, still, it wasn't for him.

"For Nunally's sake." He muttered, closing his eyes and letting his tiredness take over.

Despite the wide array of war crimes committed by his homeland, Lelouch had to give Britannia credit when it was due. Pendragon was the Empire's seventh capital overall, being the fourth one after the Humiliation of Edinburgh. The city was built after Britannia's triumph in the First Pacific War, which also saw the fall of the Japanese Shogunate. By the time the country had already embraced most of the Social Darwinistic beliefs it became known for, and those were displayed proudly in the city's architecture. One of those marks was the use of a highly technological structure, which gave the city a futuristic look and also served as a means to display to the other nations how far ahead Britannia truly was.

The living cost at the whole Pendragon Bay Area was so high that it almost granted that only nobles could live there. The Imperial Palace is situated at the highest point of the city, as a means to further declare that the emperor stands above all others.

Still, Lelouch's focus wasn't on the palace, but on how to get access to it. That's why he found himself working at a private lounge, cleaning tables. Getting a job was easy enough when he declared that he would work for food only. Whilst labor rights were an unknown term in most of the Empire's areas, the same couldn't be said about the mainland. Despite their extremely limited powers, senators did manage to enforce restrictions on underage labor. It took a bit of convincing, but like any good capitalist, the owner soon decided that breaking those laws would bring him more profit and agreed to employ him. The prince didn't choose the lounge randomly, he knew from snippets of conversations he heard from his siblings that several nobles conveyed here, making this a prime point for information gathering.

"I'm telling you that we need to strike now. The damned Europeans found Sakuradite at their African Colonies. If we hold, they will catch up with us." Nobleman #1 yelled.

"Britannia will always be superior to those foolish republicans, with or without Sakuradite our army will crush them at will." Nobleman #2 retorted arrogantly.

"Just like we did at Trafalgar?"

"Still bemoaning your family's losses from two hundred years ago?"

From that point, the argument soon snowballed from a simple discussion to an insult match. The nobles Lelouch recognized as the Marquess of Alaska and the Viscount of Albany wouldn't get into a fistfight, they were too cowardly for that, but the name-calling gave Lelouch enough time to pickpocket an audience pass from the Marquess just as he called the Viscount a communist, a high offense around those parts.

Still, Lelouch paid no mind, glancing at the pass he realized he'd be reunited with father dearest tomorrow morning.

The 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, Charles zi Britannia, sat on the throne, paying little to no mind about the nobleman in front of him. For him wasting time with those minor worldly affairs was pointless. Even more so after his one true love was murdered.

Charles loved his brother, but even he was starting to get fed up with his paranoia. Killing Marianne, an ally, was yet another proof that things were spiraling out of control. Still, it would end soon. Four of the eight thought elevators were under his control, it was a matter of time. From there he could slay god, end all the deceit, and finally be reunited with the real Marianne.

"Dismissed." He said, in his usual, loud oppressive voice, paying no mind to the man in front of him. Holding court was yet another of the emperor's duties, Charles would usually delegate it to Odysseus or Schneizel, but sometimes he had to make an appearance, such as today.

"Now presenting the Marquees of Alaska." The herald announced.

Yet, even Charles was surprised as instead of the old, curvy spined man, a small figure, covered in a cloak appeared the room. From the side of his eyes, he could see Sir Bismarck moving to apprehend the imposter.

The figure raised his hands in surrender and knelt by the steps of the throne room.

The Knight of One glanced at Charles, confusion clear on his eyes.

"Reveal yourself!" the emperor boomed.

The figure did as asked, and Charles felt a huge headache coming his way as he met with the violet eyes of his exiled son: Lelouch vi Britannia.

In order to protect him and Nunally, he sent them as hostages to Area 11. It was a win-win situation for the emperor, as it would lower the enemies' guard whilst protecting Lelouch and Nunally from assassination attempts coming from V.V. and other nobles. He knew his son survived the invasion but never thought he would come back to the court in his own volition.

The gasping and murmuring became background noise as the emperor glanced at Lelouch's eyes. He would never admit it aloud, but the eleventh prince is secretly his favorite son, most likely because he was born from the woman Charles loved the most. His eyes were different from their confrontation six months ago, instead of rage and anger, they displayed calmness and coldness unnatural for someone so young.

"The last time I spoke with you I was sent to further the Empire's goals in Japan. I did what was asked of me, I survived as a true Britannian." He spoke, his voice also changed, becoming clearer, loud enough for all those in the audience to hear even though he was only ten.

Charles too was surprised, but he could not lose face. "So?" he asked, glaring down at Lelouch.

The prince smiled. "Japan exists no more." His tone now was smooth and velvety and Charles realized that to Lelouch that was simply a stage. He truly reminded him of Marianne in that aspect. "So, as a Prince of the Empire, I return to court."

"Last time you were here you've forsaken your claim to the throne." Charles pointed out.

"Your Majesty never accepted my renounce."

Charles had to concede that to Lelouch, the prince paid attention to the wording. After all, a prince was more valuable as a hostage than a simple nobleman.

"And for that I'm grateful." His son continued. "I saw the world outside of Britannia and now realize the truth you so wisely pointed out: only the strong survive. My childish tantrum landed me in a war-torn zone, but the blood of Britannia runs strong through my veins. I survived and I came back."

"And why did you come back?"

His smile widened. "Well, to serve the empire, of course."

If you're still reading this, I'd like to personally thank you for taking your time and reading my work.

Despite being a somewhat known format, I've recently enjoyed reading the Lelouch returns/stays in Britannia genre and I've decided to try my hand at one of these stories. At the moment it may seem a bit cliché, but I promise that things will soon develop into something unique.

Since this is an opening chapter, I don't think there's a lot for me to say, so feel free to PM me or review should you have any questions regarding the story.

Chapter two is already planned but it will probably take a bit longer for me to properly write it as my other work requires attention, so please leave reviews so I can know what you expect from this story.